The number of new credit card opened in the fourth quarter of 2015 topped 80.3 million, a surge of 16.3% year-on-year, according to the American Bankers Association’s (ABA) latest edition of credit card market monitor.
The total number of credit card accounts also continued to rise steadily, hitting a post-recession high of 323 million, a rise of 5.8% from the year ago period.
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The report said that healthy consumer spending and continued labor strength were key contributing factors to the increase.
ABA senior vice president Jess Sharp said: "Recent growth in the credit card market largely mirrors what we’re seeing in the economy’s consumer sector. Labor markets continue to perform well, wages are slowly climbing and gasoline prices remain low — all of which translates into a healthier outlook for both consumers and the credit card market."
During the quarter, credit card debt increased to 5.38%, but remained in line with historic lows.
The share of account holders carrying over a monthly balance increased 0.4 points to 42.1% of all account holders, the report revealed.
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By GlobalDataAverage credit lines saw growth overall, particularly for new prime accounts and super-prime accounts, which rose 1.6% and 2.4%, respectively. Subprime growth was slower, at 0.4%, the report added.
